What is it about?
Many archaea are capable of switching between cell shapes that are connected to specialized behaviors. Using computational and experimental approaches, we identified two new families of polymeric proteins, named here as halofilins, that secure the mechanical integrity of cells as they bend and shape-shift. We show that halofilins provide mechanical support inside (halofilin A) and outisde (halofilin B) the cell at different shape transition stages.
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Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Archaea are prokaryotes (cells without nucleus) just like bacteria, but are an important piece of the evolutionary puzzle given their genetic proximity to Eukaryotes. Our work not only characterized a new mechanism for promoting cell shape plasticity, but observed that halofilins are also present in many eukaryotes, like fungi, algae and marine animals. More specifically, halofilin B (HalB) is the first example of a intermediate filament system polymerizing outside the cell. This represents a new front to study the biophysics of membranes from with a perspective on the exterior surface of the membranes.
Perspectives
Scientifically speaking, I hope our work will inspire scientists to also consider the physics of the cell while observing the outcomes of their genetic experiments. It is a good textbook example of how similar phenotypes are not a result of shared molecular pathways and mechanisms. Personally, this article has been an incredibly rewarding experience and the culmination of an extensive collaboration within our group and others working in the archaeal field. I hope this article attracts more scientists to the wonderfully bizarre world of archaea.
Alex Bisson
Brandeis University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Halofilins as emerging bactofilin families of archaeal cell shape plasticity orchestrators, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, September 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2401583121.
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